John Mahoney receives posthumous recognition

Victorian truck driver John Mahoney has been posthumously inducted into the National Road Transport’s (NRT) Hall of Fame.

Mahoney died in March after a long battle with leukaemia. The 65-year-old worked for Blackney’s Transport in Geelong for 21 years.

His wife, Lorraine, accepted the honour with their two children at the 2011 NRT Shell Rimula Hall of Fame event in Alice Springs last weekend.

"He would have been quite honoured and proud and he would have loved being up there," Lorraine says.

"He loved going to work every day and when he was in the office he also loved dealing with other people and customers. I think he was well respected by the community – always honest and reliable and he was very into being on time and doing the right thing."

Lorraine says Mahoney was ill for 18 years and had a bone marrow transplant in 2000.

"He just loved going to work and it kept him alive for many years more than he would have been," she says.

"John Mahoney was the son of a successful truck operator in western Victoria and learned to drive at a very early age," Mulder says.

"He was often spotted parking and reversing trucks in his father’s yard. When John began driving legally at the age of 18 he worked for many local companies before he branched out and ran his own transport business.

"Initially he worked as an interstate truck driver, however, his knowledge of the industry was soon recognised and he was appointed to the position of operations manager (at Blackney’s Transport).

"During that time John gained the respect of clients, drivers and transport industry professionals alike and over the years he gained great personal satisfaction in nurturing and training young people in the industry."

Mulder says he is not surprised that Mahoney was inducted into the hall of fame because of his contributions to the trucking industry. He labelled him "a great community man" and someone who was ready to help if needed.

"No doubt he did all this at considerable personal cost over many years. It is therefore very fitting that John should be recognised in the manner than he has been," Mulder says.